A Quirky Corner of Humboldt

On 2nd Street in Eureka near the Oberon restaurant, there is a lovely old brick wall with two curious holes in it. One of the holes is circled by chalk. [Photos by A. Nelson.]

Have you ever noticed those little holes in the brick wall by Oberon on 2nd Street? [Who knows why they are there?] A. Nelson, who doesn’t wish to be known by her full name, was walking by the wall with her 13-year-old son earlier today. Her son noticed what Nelson calls “a communal pot dispensary.”

Do even the buildings leak green in Humboldt?

Is this a random act of kindness? Do little people manicure buds behind the walls and push their trim onto their balcony? Is this some kind of offering to the gods of 2nd Street?

Go ahead, Humboldt. Let your imaginations roll. Shake out those stories and share your ideas with all of us.

UPDATE 4/9: According to a reader (who is an engineer,) the missing bricks are likely the result of the standard test method for this kind of masonry work. She sent the following diagram showing how the test is done.